Piano bench and cabinet.



A. C. ABRAMSON.

PIANO BENCH AND CABINET. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 28. 1916.

Patented May 22, 1917. 2 $HEETS-SHEET l.

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A. C. ABRAMSON.

PIANO BENCH AND CABINET APPLICATION FILED MAR. 28,1936. I

Patented May 22', 1917.

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ALFRED o. ABRAMSON, or aooizroan, VILLINOIS.

PIANO BENCH aNncA'B'INEr.

I Specification of Letters Patent. Patented 1Hay'22j, 1917,

' Application filed March 28,1916. Serial no. 87,207.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALFRED C. ABRAH- SON, acitizen of the United States, residing at Rockford, in the county ofWinnebago and State oflllinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Piano Benches and Cabinets, of which the following is aspecification. I

This invention relates to piano benches of the class adapted for useboth as an ordinary flat top bench when a piano is hand played and whichcan be converted into a player piano bench having aninclined seatdisposed at a higher elevation than the hori- Zontal seat, so that onebench serves the purpose of an ordinary piano bench and a player-pianobench. i

A standard type of bench now used with the ordinary hand played piano isone in which the stand is constructed to provide an open-top musiccompartment, and the seat is hinged at one side of the stand so as topro ide a lid or cover to the music compartment and a seat for theoperator. Benches of this type are known as cabinet piano benches andare generally constructed for duet playing.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a cabinet piano benchthat is easily and readily convertible into a player-piano bench anddesigned so as not to interfere with or alter in any way theconstruction of an ordinary cabinet piano bench, and to effect thisdesideratum at a minimum cost of production. In other words, my invention contemplates the addition to a standard type of piano bench of asupplemental seat adapted to be brought into use when the bench isemployed with a player-piano in such novel manner that the supplementalseat may rest on the top of the horizontal seat board that serves as alid to the music compartment of the cabinet and may be swung out of thisposition and into the music compartment, preferably through the topthereof,.after the lid has been raised,

so that when the lid is lowered the supple. mental seat and itsmeans ofmounting and support are entirely concealed within the musiccompartment. 1

My invention also contemplates the provision of a supplementalplayer-piano seat that may be easily and readily attached to anystandard duet piano bench having an open-top music compartment, thusenabling piano benches already 1n use and those of accepted standard;design to be converted sheet music. My improvements permit theplayer-plano seat to be easily moved from its inoperative positionwithin and at one end of'themusic compartment to an operativepositioncentrally above the seat board of the bench.

Another object is to provide a cabinet music bench in which. asupplemental seat is mounted on a double jointed hinge arranged so asnot to interfere with the bench design and to permit the said seat to bepositioned on theltop of the seat board'and swung on the double hinge'toa concealed position beneath the seat board and within the musiccompartment. I v Other objects and attendant advantages will be apparentas the invention becomes better understood by reference to. thefollowing description when considered in con-V nection with theaccompanying drawings, showing several embodiments of my 1nvent1on, 111wh1ch Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a cabinet piano benchembodying my improvements, the supplemental seat being shown inoperative. position and the bench being broken away to show the mountingof said seat; 1

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the bench with the supplemental seat positionedwithin the 7 music compartment;

Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of the bench showing the seat boardralsed and the supplemental seat swung out of the music compartment; andr Fig. 6 1s a crosssect1onal vlew through the bench showing thesupplemental seat in operative position. 7 v

Referring to the drawings, the piano bench of a conventional cabinettype for duet playing comprises a stand formed by legs 7 joined by endand side rails 8, 8, 9 and 9, respectively, which define the outer Wallsof a music compartment designated. in general by reference character 11,the bottom of which compartment is defined by the bottom board 12.Braces 13 hold the lower ends of the legs in fixed relation. A. seatboard 14 hingedly mounted at 15 on the side rail J serves as a lid orcover for the music compartment and may be swung to upright position topermit access to said compartment, in which position the lid is held bymeans of a suitable jointed brace 16. It will be apparent that the benchdescribed is in every Way complete and provides an open-top musiccompartment covered by a hinged seat board. Such a cabinet music benchis of a standard type adapted for use with the ordinary hand playedpiano.

By providing a supplemental seat adapt ed to rest on top of the seatboard and connected to the bench in a novel manner so that the said seatmay be concealed within the music compartment, a player-piano bench isprovided, which as will be presently apparent, may be converted, atwill, into an ordinary piano bench, and vice versa. As shown in Fig. 1,the supplemental-seat designated in general by character 17, having aninclined upper face rests on the top of the seat board it and isprovided on its lower edges with a felt or other suitable facing, so asnot to mar the polish of the seat board. This supplemental seat, of awidth suitable for a single person to sit on, may be of suitableconstruction, preferably of a cushioned structure, so that in connectionwith the incline of the seat there will be no difiiculty for theoperator to maintain a proper position thereon. One form of seat I havefound very practical and simple to manufacture is shown in Figs. 1 to 3inclusive, consisting of a seat board 18, the top of which may be paddedor tufted and supporting blocks or legs 19 secured to the seat board andshaped to support the same in an inclined position.

My invention contemplates the provision of means pivotally securing thesupplemental seat to an element of the bench in such manner as not tointerfere with or mar in any way the outward design or appearance of thebench, so that the said seat may be swung from an operative position ontop of the seat board to an inoperative position beneath said seat boardconcealed within the music compartment, preferably at one end thereof.In effecting this object, I have provided a double ointed hingeconnecting the supplemental seat to an element of the bench at a pointwithin the inclosure of the cabinet and arranged so as to provide aninner and outer hinge, upon the latter of which the supplemental seatmay swing out of operative position to one side of the seat board andupon the former of which the seat may swing to a position beneath theseat board so as to be concealed thereby within the music compartment orcabinet when the seat board is lowered. To enable the supplemental seatto be positioned within the music compartment at one end thereof. I haveso secured the double hinge device to the bench that the seat may heslid lengthwise of the compartment. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1to 3 inclusive, the hinge device comprises an inner hinge element in theform of an elongated metal strip 21 turned at one edge around a rod 22that is secured to the upper portion of the inner side of the side rail9 by brackets 20'or other suit able means. The hinge element 21 thusbeing pivotally connected to the rod 22 has secured to each end anupstanding portion 23, to the outer end of which is pivotally connectedat 24; a hinge element 25, secured to the narrow end of the adjacentblock 19. It will be noted that the portion of the hinge element 21disposed intermediate the blocks 19 serves merely to establish a pivotaland sliding connection of the hinge device to the rod 22 that will befree from tions 23 of the hinge element 22. The supplemental seat beingthus carried'out of the path'of the seat board, the same may be swungupwardly to allow the supplemental seat to be swung into the musiccompart ment. With the seat board in upright po sition, the supplementalseat may he slid lengthwise on the rod 22 to one end of the musiccompartment and thence swung on the said rod as a pivot into the musiccompartment as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. A partition 26 shown in Fig.2 divides the music compartment so that the sheet music contained in thecompartment 27 may not enter the seat-containing compartment 28. Theoperator while swinging the supplemental seat on the pivots 24 bearsslightly inwardly on the seat to hold the hinge elements 23 and 25 inabutting relation, so that this relation will be maintained while theseat is being swung into the music compartment. l/Vhen the seat board isnow swung back to normal position it will be manifest that thesupplemental seat is entirely concealed within the cabinet and that thebench has every appearance of an ormay be converted into use for thispurpose by simply raising the seat board, thence swinging thesupplemental seat out of the music compartment and sliding the seatlengthwise on the rod 22 to a position centrally intermediate the endsof the compartment, which position is determined by the end of the hingeelement 21 abutting against the central bracket 20 and continuing theswinging movement of the supplemental seat until the element 21 abutsagainst the top of the side rail 9, lowering the seat board to normalposition for locking the said hinge element against movement, andfinally swinging the supplemental seat in a reverse direction on thepivots 24 into operative position on the top of the seat board.

Referring now to a modified form of invention that I have illustrated inFigs. 4:

to 6 inclusive, it will be observed that the bench is of the samegeneral type as that first described with the exception that the musiccompartment is divided by partitions 29 so as to provide individualcompartments 31 at the ends of the bench and a central compartment 32adapted to receive the supplemental seat. In this instance, thesupplemental seat designated generally by 17 is hinged directly to theside rail 9 and swings into the compartment 32, a stop bar 33 beingprovided to limit the downward pivotal movement of the seat within thesaid compartment. The double joint hinge here employed is the same asthat first described with the slight exception that the hinge element 21instead of being in one, piece is formed of separate sections p1v--otally connected to stationary hinge elements 34 that are in turn 1pivotally secured to the inner side of the side rail 9. Also theoperation of swinging the supplemental seat from'operative toinoperative positions corresponds with the similar movements of thepreferred form of supplemental seat with the exception of adjusting thesaid seat lengthwise of the music compartment. \Vhile in the modifiedembodiment a greater music-storing capacity is provided, due to the twoend music compartments, the dimensions of the bench must be slightlylarger thanthose of the preferred form which are of a standard size nowin common use. The double hinge,

however, of the modified form, aside from adjustment lengthwise of thecompartment, is in every respect equivalent to the mounting of thepreferred form of seat.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent small.

that the means I have provided both as attachment and an additionto astandard type of cabinet music bench, are of few parts and simple indesign and construction so that the additional cost of making anordinary cabinet music bench convertible into a player-piano bench iscomparatively It should be understood, however, that I do not limitmyself to the particular arrangement disclosed, since variousmodifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit andscope of the;

invention as expressed in the appended claims. I 1

I claim:

1. A. piano bench comprising a stand constructed' to provide an open-topmusic compartment, a seat board ,covering said compartment and hinged tothe stand, a supplemental seat resting on the top of the seat board, andmeans pivotally securing the supplemental seatto the stand at the sidethereof adjacent to the outer edge of the seat board and constructed sothat said supplemental seat may be swung on said means out of thepath ofthe seat board permitting the same to be swung to upright position andthe supplemental seat to be swunginto the inclosure of the" standbeneath the seat board so that the latter may be swung back tonormal'position.

2. A piano bench comprising a stand constructed to provide an open-topmusic compartment, a seat board covering said compartment and hinged tothe stand, a supplemental seat resting on the top of the seat board, andmeans pivotally securing the sup plemental seat to an element of thebench and constructed so that said supplemental seat may be swung awayfrom the top of the seat board and-around the outer edge thereofallowing the seat board to be swung to an upright position, andthesupplemental seat thence swung into the music compartment, whereupon theseat board maybe lowered to normal position in which to conceal thesupplemental seat within and close said said pivotal means-from saidposition above V the seat board to-a position beneath the same andwithin the music compartment without disturbingthe mounting of said seatboard.

4. A piano bench having a seat board hingedly mounted on a fixed pivotat one side of the bench, a'supplemental seat adapted to rest on the topof said seat board, and means independent of the seat boar'dpivo-tallyconnecting the supplemental seat to the bench in such manner that thesupplemental seat may be moved upon said pivotal connecting means fromsaid position above to one beneath the seat board and within the musiccompartment.

5. The combination with a piano bench having an open-top compartmentcovered by a top board hingedly connected at one side to the bench, of aseat adapted to rest on the top of said board, and a device secured tothe bench at the side thereof adjacent to the free end of the top boardand arranged to extend around the free end of the seat board and beingconnected to the said seat, said device having a plurality of pivotaljoints arranged so that the seat may 7 swing on one pivot away from thetop board and on its other pivot to carry the seat beneath the board.

6. The combination with a piano bench having a seat board hingedlymounted at one side 011 a fixed pivot, of a supplemental seat adapted torest on the top of the seat board, and means connecting the supplementalseat with an element of the bench adjacent to a free edge of the seatboard, and means including a pair of pivotal joints arranged so that thesupplemental seat may swing on one pivot away from the top of the seatboard and on the other pivot to a position beneath the seat board.

7. The combination with a piano bench having an open-top musiccompartment covered by a hinged seat board, of a supplemental seatadapted to rest on the top of the seat board, and means securing the supplemental seat to the bench comprising a hinge secured to a rail of themusic compartme-nt adjacent to the outer edge of the seat board andconnected at its outer end to the seat, said hinge having a second jointadjacent to the seat so that the seat may swing on the second joint awayfrom the top of the seat board and thence on its inner joint to aposition beneath the seat board.

8. The combination with a piano bench having an open-top musiccompartment covered by a hinged seat board, of a supplemental seatadapted to rest on the top of the seat board, and double articulatedmeans independent of the seat board securing the supplemental seat tothe bench and arranged so that the seat may swing away from the seatboard on one of its joints and thence to a position beneath the seatboard on its other joint.

9. The combination with a piano bench having an open-top musiccompartment covered by a hinged seat board, of'a supplemental seatadapted to rest on the top of the seat board, and double articulatedmeans securing the supplemental seat to an element of the bench adjacentto a free edge of the seat board, the joints of said means beingvertically spaced apart and arranged so that the supplemental seat maybe swung on the upper joint away from the seat board and on the lowerjoint to a position beneath the seat board.

10. The combination with a piano bench having an open-top musiccompartment covered by a hinged seat board, of a supplemental seatadapted to rest on the top of the seat board, and means pivotallyconnecting the supplemental seatto the bench, said means having pivotaljoints disposed when the seat board is in horizontal positionsubstantially in the planes of the top and bottom of the seat board andarranged so that tl c supplemental seat may swing on said joints from aposition above to one below the seat board.

11. A piano bench comprising a stand constructed to provide arectangular opentop music compartment divided transversely into threecompartments, a seat board hinged to the stand and serving as a cover tosaid music compartment, a supplemental seat adapted to rest on the topof the seat board, and means pivotally securing said supplemental. seatto an element of the bench adjacent to an outer edge of the seat boardand constructed so that the supplemental seat may be swung to a positionbeneath the seat board in the central compartment and that the seatboard may be swung to a horizontal position in which to conceal thesupplemental seat and cover the music compartment.

12. The combination with a piano bench having an open-top musiccompartment covered by a seat board hingedly mounted at one side on afixed pivot so that it may be swung from a horizontal to an uprightposition to all-ow access to the music compartment, of a supplementalseat adapted to rest on the top of the seat board, and means pivotallysecuring the supplemental seat to an element of the bench andconstructed so that the supplemental seat may be swung on said meansfrom said position on top of the seat board to a position beneath thesame within the music compartment by passing into the same through theopen top thereof.

13. The combination with a piano bench having an open-top musiccompartment and a seat board covering said compartment, of asupplemental seat adapted to rest on the top of the seat board, andpivotal means secured within the inclosure or said compartment andextending around the outer edge of the seat board and attached to thesupplemental seat, said means being so constructed that the supplementalseat may be swung thereupon into the music compartment after the seatboard has been raised to an upright position.

14- The combination with a piano bench having an open-top musiccompartment and a seat board serving to cover said compartment, ofasupplemental seat adapted to rest on the top of the seat board, andmeans adjustably connecting the supplemental seat to the bench so thatsaid seat may be positioned Within the music compartment at one endthereof and moved on said means to a position centrally above the seatboard. 15. The combination with a piano bench having an open-top musiccompartment and a seat board serving to cover said compartment, of aplayer-piano seat, andmeans connecting said seat with the bench in fsuch manner that the'seat may be moved from beneath the seat boardadjacent to one end thereof to a position above and centrally betweenthe ends of the seatboard.

16. The combination With a duet piano bench having a music compartment,of a1 player-piano seat pivotally secured to the bench so as to bemovable froma position Within the music compartment to one above theseat of the bench and being slidable on its pivotal mounting lengthwiseof said compartment.

17: The combination With a duet piano bench having a music compartment,of a player-piano seat, and means connecting the said seat With thebench in such a manner that the'seat may be moved-from a position Withinthe compartment at one end thereof to a position above and centrallybetween the ends of the duet seat of the bench.

' ALFRED G. ABRAMSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0.

